Reviews - Pandora's Box: The Greed, Lust, and Lies That Broke Television

25 reviews for:

Pandora's Box: The Greed, Lust, and Lies That Broke Television

I enjoyed the informative breakdown of the history of the golden age of television that is in a state of transition to who knows where, but I find Biskind’s attempts at humor and witticisms lacking if not outright cringe. He also lacks a real understanding of trans-ness and I often felt his age and cis-whiteness. Further he has a great grasp of the history of these execs and studios but not of the creative side of the industry - saying for instance that the Spiderverse films “do away with actors entirely” just because their characters are animated.

anagler's review against another edition

4.0

It's not TV, it's HBO. It's not HBO, it's streaming. It's not streaming, it's why the WGA and SAG are striking/about to strike. Peter Biskind's "Pandora's Box" covers the history of how TV became today's TV and why we will likely never see anything akin to one show receiving four Leading Actor nomination for a single show on broadcast television. Biskind gets everyone relevant to talk on the record about the last 24 years of television and content. A must read for everyone either interested in watching TV or working in TV.

My thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy

sarahhamatera's review

3.75

funny informative reflective medium-paced

tothewest's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 18%

I thought this would be a more in-depth account of the rise of "prestige" television and the business behind it. Instead, it was a little too breezy and gossipy for my taste. Would be a fast read if it held my interest, so people looking for that sort of thing might want to pick it up.

jdhobbes's review against another edition

4.5

reflective medium-paced

alliereads_'s review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 30%

I wanted to like this as I love television and am interested in how we came into this era of streaming, but this book felt way too granular and hard to follow. It was essentially just long lists of names.